Multiwavelength Afterglow Analysis of GRB 221009A: Unveiling the Evolution of a Cooling Break in a Wind-like Medium

Abstract Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic explosions in the Universe, and their afterglow emission provides an opportunity to probe the physics of relativistic shock waves in an extreme environment. Several key pieces for completing the picture of GRB afterglow physics are still missing, including jet properties, the emission mechanism, and particle acceleration. Here, we present a study of the afterglow emission of GRB 221009A, the most energetic GRB ever observed. Using optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray data up to approximately 2 days after the trigger, we trace the evolution of the multiwavelength spectrum and the physical parameters behind the emission process. The broadband spectrum is consistent with the synchrotron emission emitted by relativistic electrons with its index of p = 2.29 ± 0.02. We identify a break energy at keV and an exponential cutoff at GeV in the observed multiwavelength spectrum. The break energy increases in time from <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>16.0</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>4.9</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>7.1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> keV at 0.65 days to <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>46.8</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>15.5</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>25.0</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> keV at 1.68 days, favoring a stellar-wind-like profile of the circumburst medium with k = 2.4 ± 0.1 as in ρ ( r ) ∝ r − k . The high-energy attenuation at around 0.4 to 4 GeV is attributed to the maximum of the particle acceleration in the relativistic shock wave. This study confirms that the synchrotron process can explain the multiwavelength afterglow emission and its evolution.